CHAPTERfi33 Personalizing the Conversation: Beethoven
and the Classical Sonata
output), chamber music, 17 string quartets, one
opera, choral music
C. Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata
1. Moonlight: first style period
2. title by German poet, Ludwig Rellstab: moonlit
scenery, Lake Lucerne, Switzerland
3. “fantasy sonata” (sonata quasi una fantasia)
4. three movements
a. 1stmvt.: dreamy first movement
b. 2ndmvt.: gentle scherzo, major key
c. 3rdmvt.: stormy finale, dramatic writing,
sonata- allegro form
5. evokes emotional expressiveness of Romantic
era
6. “Surely I have written better things.”
7. immediate success, continued audience favorite
D. LG 23: Beethoven: Piano Sonata in C- sharp Minor,
Op. 27, No.2 (Moonlight), I (1801)
1. Adagio sostenuto; modified song form
a. two strophes separated by development
section
b. delicate singing melody, expressive minor
key
c. continuous triplet pattern in accompaniment
d. ethereal mood, soft dynamic
e. coda: melody stated in bass
OVERVIEW
In this chapter, the sonata is presented as another represen-
tative instrumental genre of the Classical era. Beethoven’s
Moonlight Sonata is the focus of the chapter, illustrating the
more intimate and personal nature of the solo piano sonata
in the first years of the nineteenth century.
OUTLINE
I. The Sonata in the Classical Era
A. Sonata: instrumental work for one or two
instruments
1. three or four contrasting movements: multimove-
ment cycle
2. more intimate expression
3. Mozart and Beethoven piano sonatas most
significant
B. Classical- era sonata
1. impor tant genre for amateurs, per for mance in
home
2. concert works for composer– performers, show
pieces
II. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)
A. Beethoven’s life:
1. born in Bonn, Germany
2. age eleven, supported mother and brothers
3. age 22, moved to Vienna
4. worked under modified patronage system
a. taught aristocrats, worked for commissions,
concertized, published works
5. progressive hearing loss
B. Beethoven’s music:
1. expert in large- scale forms
2. individuality evident: pushed against formal
conventions
3. compositions, three periods
a. first: reection of Haydn and Mozart
b. second: strong dynamic contrasts, explosive
accents, longer movements
c. third: chromatic harmonies, transcendence
4. output: orchestral music, nine symphonies, several
concertos, 32 piano sonatas (span compositional
TEACHING CHALLENGES
Classical or Romantic? This question will inevitably arise
when introducing Beethoven’s music. Ensure students that
these stylistic categories are not black and white but rather
general, assigned in retrospect, and, in Beethoven’s case, not
to be strictly applied.
SUPPLEMENTAL REPERTORY
SUPPLEMENTAL BIBLIOGRAPHY
Jones, Timothy. Beethoven: The Moonlight and Other Sonatas, Op.
27 and Op. 31. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
A snapshot of Beethoven’s compositional output for solo piano
between the years 1801 and 1803. Chapter1 (“Keyboard Cul–
YOUR TURN TO EXPLORE
Find video examples of solo piano per for mances and contrast
them with the ensemble conversations you have examined in
other explorations. How are the performers’ be hav ior, the set–
ting, and the interaction with the audience dif fer ent? Contrast
solo per for mances of similar repertory by amateurs and pro–
fessionals: besides the skill of the performer, what other
aspects of the per for mance (self– presentation, connection with
others, expressive gestures, and so on) are dif fer ent?
MODEL RESPONSE: LISZT, LIEBESTRAUM NO . fi3
sion that she is in her own world. Because she is so
involved in the music, the audience seems to be watching
a very private moment unfold on the stage. Her hair also
covers her face for most of the per for mance, which cre–
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. To understand the Classical sonata as a multimovement
instrumental work for one or two instruments
2. To understand the solo piano sonatas of Mozart and
Beethoven as some of the most impor tant in the key–
board lit er a ture
3. To understand Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata as
embodying ele ments of the Classical style as well as
LECTURE SUGGESTIONS
1. Review the standard multimovement cycle for Classical
abstract instrumental works as presented in Chapter29,
then compare it with the structure of Beethoven’s Moon–
light Sonata. Ask students what similarities the two
2. Play the theme of the second movement of Haydn’s Sur–
prise Symphony from Chapter30, then play the open-
ing theme of the first movement of Beethoven’s
Moonlight Sonata. Ask students to compare the stylistic
ele ments of these two melodies. Which better falls under
the category of “Classical” and why? What kind of effect
does Beethoven’s theme have on the listener that Haydn’s
theme does not, and vice versa? Emphasize the contem-
plative, dreamlike character of Beethoven’s Moonlight
theme as one of the defining characteristics of musical
Romanticism.
ASSIGNMENT SUGGESTIONS
2. As the textbook notes, Beethoven’s “disruptions” of the
musical conventions of the eigh teenth century in his
Moonlight Sonata seem to have resulted in part from the
composer’s desire for subjective expressivity. This raises,
126 | Chapterfi33
most obvious, particularly as the notes climb higher in
sequence (beginning at approximately 2:19). If we contrast
the same passage in the O’Conor per for mance (beginning at
the opposite is true. At the coda (4:23) in Bilson’s per for–
mance, the climbing arpeggiations subsume the drama of
the left hand motive.
It is hard to argue which per for mance is more effective
because the two instruments offer a dif fer ent listening experi–
ence. The modern piano seems to exploit the idea of “fanta–
sia” in ways that Beethoven might have imagined, but could
not produce in the same way on the fortepiano. The Malcom
Bilson recording, on the other hand, simplifies the gestures
RUBRIC
— The student has answered, in an or ga nized way, the two
— The student attempts to apply terminology and concepts
from the book and the chapter whenever pos si ble (see
boldface text), making a distinction between timbre,
if conducting, making graceful arm movements, and
leaning in to the keyboard. She appears in total control
despite the physical demands required to play this music.
This gives listeners the impression that he is not yet com-
pletely confident in playing this piece. He is moving to the
rhythm, but in a way that seems rigid and unnatural, as if he
is trying to keep time with his body. He displays none of the
expressive gestures that seem to come so naturally from
Buniatishvili. His face is expressionless.
“ANOTHER HEARING” SAMPLE
MINI- ESSAY & RUBRIC
O’Conor on modern piano and Malcolm Bilson on fortepi–
ano is valuable when considering Beethoven’s own intentions
in composing the piece. The differences in timbre are sub–
tle, but significant. In general, the timbre seems more uni-
If we isolate just the first four mea sures (the introduction),
the difference in timbre is heard right away with the arpeg–
giated chords. In the modern piano, the harmony resonates,